Surah 15. Al-Hijr

save Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [10] on 7:11 . For the deeper meaning of this "rebellion", see note [31] below.

except Iblees (The Satan); he refused to join those who prostrated.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save Iblis. He refused to be among the prostrate.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said He: "O Iblis! What is thy reason for not being among those who have prostrated themselves?"

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah asked: "O Iblees! What is the matter with you that you did not join those who prostrated?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: O Iblis! What aileth thee that thou art not among the prostrate?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Iblis] replied: "It is not for me to prostrate myself before mortal man whom Thou hast created out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted!"

  - Mohammad Asad

He replied: "It does not behoove me to prostrate myself to this man whom You have created from sounding clay, black mud moulded into shape."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: Why should I prostrate myself unto a mortal whom Thou hast created out of potter's clay of black mud altered?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said He: "Go forth, then, from this [angelic state]: for, behold, thou art [henceforth] accursed,

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "Get out of here, you are accursed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: Then go thou forth from hence, for verily thou art outcast.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [My] rejection shall be thy due²⁸ until the Day of Judgment!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "is upon thee".

The curse will remain on you till the Day of Judgement."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! the curse shall be upon thee till the Day of Judgment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said [Iblis]: "Then, O my Sustainer, grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead!"

  - Mohammad Asad

At this Iblees requested: "Rabb! Give me respite till the Day of Resurrection."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: My Lord! Reprieve me till the day when they are raised.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Answered He: "Verily, so be it: thou shalt be among those who are granted respite

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "All right! You are given the respite

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: Then lo! thou art of those reprieved

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

till the Day the time whereof is known [to Me alone]."

  - Mohammad Asad

till the Day of appointed time."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Till an appointed time.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Whereupon Iblis] said: "O my Sustainer! Since Thou hast thwarted me,²⁹ I shall indeed make [all that is evil] on earth seem goodly to them, and shall most certainly beguile them into grievous error -

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {7}, note [11].

Iblees said: "Rabb! Since You let me go astray, I will make evil fair-seeming to them on earth and I will seduce them all

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: My Lord, Because Thou has sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead them every one.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[all] save such of them as are truly Thy servants!"³⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "Thy sincere servants": i.e., those who are so deeply conscious of God that no "blandishment of Satan" can lead them astray. (See also note [32] below.)

except those of them who are Your sincere devotees."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save such of them as are Thy perfectly devoted slaves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said He: "This is, with Me, a straight way:³¹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "this is what I have willed" - namely, that Iblis (or Satan) should tempt man, but should have no power to seduce those who are truly conscious of God. Thus, the Qur'an makes it clear that despite his ostensible "rebellion" against his Creator, Satan fulfils a definite function in God's plan: he is the eternal tempter who enables man to exercise his God-given freedom of choice between good and evil and, thus, to become a being endowed with moral free will. (See in this connection 19:83 , as well as note [26] on 2:34 and note [16] on 7:24 .)

Allah said: "This course of action is all right with Me

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: This is a right course incumbent upon Me:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

verily, thou shalt have no power over My creatures - unless it be such as are [already] lost in grievous error and follow thee [of their own will]:³²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "except him who shall follow thee from among those who are lost in grievous error". (Cf. 14:22 , according to which Satan will thus address his erstwhile followers on Judgment Day: "I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded unto me.") This phrase constitutes the essential difference between the above passage and the similar one in {7:11-18}.

- you will not have any authority over My devotees except those misguided ones who follow you.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! as for My slaves, thou hast no power over any of them save such of the froward as follow thee,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and for all such, behold, hell is the promised goal,

  - Mohammad Asad

They will be all destined for Hell,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! for all such, hell will be the promised place.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

with seven gates leading into it, each gate receiving its allotted share of sinners."³³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "it has seven gates, [with] an allotted share of them for each gate". This probably means "seven degrees" of hell, i.e., of the suffering which, in the life to come, awaits the "followers of Satan" in accordance with the gravity of their sins (Razi; a similar explanation is given by Qatadah, as quoted by Tabari). It should also be remembered that the concept of "hell" as such is referred to in the Qur'an under seven different names, all of them metaphorical (necessarily so, because they relate to what the Qur'an describes as al-ghayb, "something that is beyond the reach of human perception"): namely nar ("fire, which is the general term), jahannam ("hell"), jahim ("blazing fire"), sa'ir ("blazing flame"), saqar ("hell-fire"), laza ("raging flame"), and hutamah ("crushing torment"). Since, as I have mentioned, these designations of other-worldly suffering are obviously allegorical, we may also assume that the "seven gates of hell" have the same character, and signify "seven approaches [or "ways"] to hell". Furthermore, it is well known that in the Semitic languages - and most particularly in classical Arabic - the number "seven" is often used in the sense of "several" or "various" (cf. Lisan al-'Arab, Taj al -Arus, etc.): and so the above Qur'anic phrase may well have the meaning of "various ways leading to hell" - in other words, many ways of sinning.

which has seven gates, each gate will be assigned to a separate group from among them."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

It hath seven gates, and each gate hath an appointed portion.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

VERILY, those who are conscious of God [shall find themselves in the hereafter] amidst gardens and springs,

  - Mohammad Asad

The righteous will be in the midst of the gardens and fountains of paradise

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who ward off (evil) are among gardens and watersprings.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall